Rooftop жфш
by Led Feynman M.D. D.D.S. Ph.D
Summary: While in the Fire Nation for a funeral, Azula and Ty lee have a conversation about stars, death, and legacies. Wildly post-series. Technically spoilers but eh.


The stars splatter across the sky as the girls make their way to the edge of the city. Sodium vapor streetlamps give way to fancy gas lights signaling that the standard of living has just increased significantly. Out here the streets are decently steep, and the girls find themselves ascending more than a few staircases. Azula realizes she's never been to this part of town without a palanquin. She suspects that was why she went through bearers so quickly.

Ty Lee puts out her cigarette on the ground and throws it into a trash can. The trail of smoke slowly rises though the air. "What do you think?" Azula asks as the smoke drifts past her face.

"It was okay," Ty Lee says with a shrug.

Another few minutes pass in silence and the girls are standing in front of the Gau Na manor, looking up at the impressive facade. Their fingers entangle briefly and then Ty Lee pulls away, walking briskly towards the side of the building. "Come on," she calls to the princess. Azula follows Ty Lee around the side of the house, through the flowerbeds and then watches in surprise as the girl pulls her dress above her knees and begins to scale the trellis mounted to the side of the manor.

"Where are you going?" Azula asks in amusement, stepping closer to the trellis to get a better view up Ty Lee's dress.

"Where do you think? Come on, you can do it in that dress," Ty Lee states. Her tone doesn't begin to approach the level of urgency her frantic climbing expresses. Azula cautiously pulls her own dress up and begins to reluctantly climb the trellis behind Ty Lee.

By the time she's a third of the way up Ty Lee has pulled herself onto the rooftop and crouches over the edge, waiting for Azula. "You're so slow," she chides playfully.

"I'm not sure this would be much easier if I weren't wearing a dress," Azula calls quietly. Her amusement is beginning to plateau.

At long last she reaches up to grab a soft hand and Azula pulls herself onto the tile rooftop, breathing heavily as she lifts her head to face Ty Lee. Ty Lee smiles and leans forward to kiss her, then stands up and begins walking along the rooftop.

Azula staggers upright and is surprised at the sight on her left. Thousands of twinkling city lights spread out beneath them, a massive ocean of urban luminescence a mile on a side. She catches up with Ty Lee, who stands dangerously close to the edge of the rooftop, apparently counting the balconies beneath them before walking to the peak of the rooftop and sitting down.

"It's beautiful," she breathes and sits next to Ty Lee. "I've never seen the city from this high up."

"I used to come up here at night when I couldn't sleep. Last time that happened I'd just gotten back from Ba Sing Se as well," Ty Lee admits before leaning back and laying flat on the tiles. "But that's nothing compared to what's up there," she declares, pointing upwards. Azula follows her arm into the sky, where she's struck with awe for the second time in thirty seconds.

Millions of stars populate the night sky, more than Azula can remember seeing for a very long time. She stretches out alongside Ty Lee, comprehending the sheer vastness of the sky above them. It just goes on forever. An incredible deep field, stretching from the closest star six light years away to stars created when the universe was brand new.

"It's great isn't it?" Ty Lee suggests with a small laugh after several moments of stunned silence from the princess.

Several more seconds pass before Azula remembers to answer. "There are so many more than in Ba Sing Se."

"Imperium is a lot smaller than Ba Sing Se. Less than two hundred thousand people live here," Ty Lee whispers to Azula's head. "But I still think Kyoshi has the best night sky. On Kyoshi when it's dark, everyone goes to bed. Everyone. And there are no lights on for miles in any direction. You can see every single star like it's just above you. It makes you want to reach out and grab them." She lifts her arm straight up and makes a grasping motion.

Azula reaches down and takes Ty Lee's other hand in her own. "I never really ever paid attention to the sky when I lived here."

Ty Lee squeezes and smiles. "We'll fix that right now then."

The girls continue to stare into the sky. It is beautiful.

"Can I have another cigarette?" Ty Lee asks after three minutes of comfortable silence. Azula turns to her and she hands her the pack.

"You'd better be careful with these. Otherwise you'll get addicted. And end up like Whatshisname." Ty Lee takes out two cigarettes and offers one to Azula, who takes it before lighting the one in Ty Lee's lips. The smoke rises gently into the sky. Azula watches it and lights her own.

"Sometimes I wish I believed in the Afterlife, so that the people I love don't have to go away forever when they die," Ty Lee admits quietly after a few seconds of contemplation. Azula takes a deep drag.

"I suppose that's the tragedy of life. You have one chance to have a good one and then you're done. No retakes."

"You've had two lives," Ty Lee reminds her with a sidelong glance. Caught, Azula opens her mouth and attempts to think of a way out.

"I've been... given a second... You know what I meant," she says with a gentle elbow to Ty Lee's arm.

"Everyone has an expiration date, I guess. And when your time is up, you go away and no one ever gets to see you again. Life is an amazing experience but that's the cost to play it."

"Well..." Azula begins, deciding her next words. "If I died tomorrow, I'd be gone. You'd never see or hear from me again."

"Wow, thanks for the pep talk."

"Let me finish. If I died, you'd never get to talk to me or see me again. But would you remember me?"

Ty Lee glances over briefly. "Of course I'd remember you."

"Right. You'd remember me. My brother would probably remember me. All of my friends would probably remember me. And all of their memories of me would outlive me."

"My memories of my father have outlived him," Ty Lee mutters quietly.

"I know you'll hold onto your memories of your father for the rest of your life. You'll tell our kids about their one good grandfather. They might even remember him through you. Your father succeeded in that regard." Azula looks back into the sky. "We'll all die at some point. The challenge is making sure to leave behind a legacy worth remembering and passing on. And it's even harder to make it a legacy worth being proud of."

Ty Lee feels Azula's mood drop with her last sentence and bites her cigarette to reach over and squeeze her arm. "Thank you." Azula doesn't say anything else and Ty Lee knows why. She inspects her face for any sign of sadness but sees only a stoic mask staring straight up. Ty Lee opens her mouth and speaks quietly. "It's not too late. For you." Azula closes her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink.

"I don't have a father I can think back fondly on. You had an amazing father. He'll live forever as long as you remember that." Azula breaks her mask and smiles, turning toward Ty Lee. Ty Lee smiles back. The end of the cigarette in her mouth moves in an arc and they watch the smoke fade up and away.

Azula's cigarette is almost gone so she puts it out with a wave and crushes it against the tile roof. Ty Lee does the same and sits up. "I'm tired. Want to go to bed?"

"Probably. What time is the wake?"

"Early. At this rate we'll probably sleep through the first half."

"I didn't mean to keep you up," Azula says and sits up next to her.

"It's okay. I really needed to talk to you."

"I'm glad I could help." They kiss one last time before Ty Lee crawls down the roof and drops herself onto the balcony with a graceful flip. Azula follows and they retreat into Ty Lee's bedroom and prepare for bed.


End file.
